For the Love of a Daughter
by RainbowGummyBears
Summary: My first fanfic. with I Am Unicorn airing tonight, i had this in my head. Rachel's reaction to seeing Shelby again. should be multi-chaptered. sorry for the crappy summary, just read it. rated T just in case, little kids may not like. enjoy :
1. Chapter 1

***Hey guys. This is my first fanfic ever, so I'm sorry if it sucks. I know "I Am Unicorn" airs tonight, but I've had this idea in my head all week. Enjoy!***

Rachel Berry, McKinley High's resident future Broadway queen, made her way down the hall to her first period class, energetic and well-dressed as usual, to her first period class.

Biology.

Rachel had heard that their teacher Mr. Morris had oddly retired mid-school year. She wondered who the replacement would be.

"Hey, babe!"

Rachel turned to see her boyfriend, quarterback Finn Hudson, walking up behind her. He threw an arm around her shoulder and bent down for his usual "good-morning" kiss. Rachel gave him a short-yet-sweet peck on the lips.

"Morning!" Rachel grinned as she stopped walking. "Alrighty then, I have biology. See you in a little bit?"

"Of course." Finn bent down and kissed her cheek. "Bye, babe."

Rachel smiled and spun around to walk into biology.

Little did she know she was in for quite the shock.

She saw a woman teacher with incredibly long, dark hair standing with her back to her at the board, writing her name on the whiteboard. She turned around to greet Rachel.

"Hi, I'm Ms. Cor- Oh my God."

Shelby Corcoran. Rachel's mother. The one who left her. The one she hadn't heard from in a year and a half.

Rachel's jaw dropped. No. This wasn't happening. She turned and bolted from the room.

***Reviews please! See that little button right below these words? You do now, don't you? Press it. And write a review of my story. But I ask for no mean comments. Only constructive criticism or ideas. I have an idea of what I want to do for a little while, but ideas are totally appreciated!***


	2. Chapter 2

***Hey guys! Thanks to those of you who reviewed! You guys are the coolest! And I read in some spoilers Shelby comes to teach biology… so… that's where that came from. XD So here's chapter 2! Enjoy, y'all!**

**-Emma***

Rachel sprinted out of the biology classroom, trying as best as she could not to cry. Why? Why would Shelby come back now? Just when things seemed to be looking up, she had to make things more complicated.

Books still in her arms, she ran through the hallway to the bathroom. Finn hadn't made it to his class yet and spotted her when she was about to burst through the door into the empty girls' room.

"Babe?" Finn was confused to say the least. Two seconds ago, Rachel was fine. He looked around before following her into the girls' room.

Rachel was standing alone in front of the mirror, wiping her eyes. She was alone, other than Finn. When she heard the door open, she gasped, but let out a sigh of relief upon seeing that it was only Finn. He locked the door when he got in.

"Rach…" Finn whispered. She was really crying. Hard. "Y-you don't have to tell me what's wrong if you don't want to."

Rachel made an attempt to take a deep breath but she couldn't.

"Shelby… My mom. Sh-she's here… Teaching biology. She hasn't bothered to contact me in a year and a half. Why would she-!"

Suddenly, she felt something in the back of her throat; she gagged and ran to the trashcan about 10 feet away. She dropped her books and threw up.

Finn ran over to her as she breathed heavily. Finn held her hair up with one hand and rubbed her back with the other as her head still hung over the tall gray trashcan. She shuddered and vomited again.

Rachel cried as she slowly leaned back up, knowing she wouldn't vomit again. She reached into her purse and found her little bottle of mouthwash she kept in there for emergencies. She rinsed her mouth out and sighed. She was still crying. And it didn't seem like that was stopping any time soon.

She stared at her reflection. Her eyes were read and puffy. Her cheeks were beet red. Finn sat down against the wall by the door. Rachel walked over, trying not to cry in front of Finn. She slumped down next to him. Then, she put her face in her eyes and started crying again.

"Rach," Finn breathed.

Rachel looked up into the big, light, brown eyes she fell in love with two years ago. He held his arms out and she nodded. He pulled her into his lap.

Rachel buried her face into Finn's neck and cried harder than she had already been. Finn's hands stroking her hair and rubbing her back were somewhat comforting. She loved him for that.

"How could she come back? W-why? Why did she h-have to come back now? I can't deal with her…" Rachel whispered into Finn's neck as she cried.

"I know, baby… I know."

***So there y'all have it, chapter 2. Please review. I really appreciate it! Thanks for reading you guys. It's really awesome for me. The next chapter should be up tomorrow, because I'm preparing for this evening's installment to season 3 of Glee. Alright y'all, please review! Thanks again!***


	3. Chapter 3

**Hey you guys! I tooooold you I'd update today! Well this chapter is basically what Finn's thinking throughout what's going on. By the way, I don't think I'll be following the way that Glee has been going with stuff, like Rachel and Kurt ARE friends, Quinn's nice, etc. etc. etc. Well, y'all, enjoy! :D**

**-Emma**

Finn had seen Rachel cry before, but never like this. Rachel was almost always being overdramatic, but this time, she wasn't. This was the real deal.

Finn wasn't happy that Shelby was back. Like, at all. He hated seeing Rachel upset. It made him want to…well… cry. He'd never cried in front of Rachel or anyone except his mother. Ever.

Maybe it was a good time to start, because he couldn't help it. He felt a tear roll down his face.

He and Rachel sat curled up in a locked girls' bathroom like that for about an hour. Rachel had stopped crying. Finn continued to stroke her dark hair. Rachel's small body trembled in his arms.

"Finn?" She whispered.

Finn picked his head, which he had laid on top of hers, back up and replied with a barely audible "Yeah, babe?"

"D-do you wanna go out now…?"

Finn was confused… again. "Are you sure you wanna do that, baby? I mean, I'll stay here all day with you. I'll miss glee club, too. Whatever you need."

Rachel looked up for the first time in an hour and smiled. It wasn't a big Rachel Berry-esque, so-enthusiastic-your-cheeks-are-hurting-just-looking-at-her smile, but it was a little smile, the kind only Finn got to see.

"Thank you, Finn." She said. "I love you…so much, but I think I'm ready to face the rest of the day. At least biology's over."

Finn smiled and laughed slightly. "You sure you wanna go? I think it's about time for Spanish. I still don't understand why you're decided to take Spanish 2 with me."

Rachel laughed. "You needed help."

Finn laughed again then sighed. "Alright, if you're sure, let's go."

Rachel got up from Finn's lap, checked her reflection, wiped her eyes once more, and grabbed her books (and Finn's hand.) Finn led her over to the door, gave her a kiss on her forehead, unlocked the door, and they walked out together.

A good two minute later, the pair was outside Mr. Schuester's Spanish classroom. Finn turned back to Rachel, who smiled reassuringly as if to say "I'm okay, you can open the door."

Finn smiled back, but he knew Rachel wasn't totally okay.

He opened the door to find they were about 10 minutes late.

"When you conjugate the verb 'estar' in the 'yo' form, you-" Mr. Schue stopped teaching to find his two glee clubbers standing in the doorway. Before they could even open their mouths to apologize and come up with an excuse, he put a hand up and nodded towards their seats at the table in the front of the room.

Finn was glad he understood. It would've been too hard for Rachel to talk about her mother in front of the class and it definitely would have been too hard for Finn to come up with an excuse for their being late… He wasn't as smart as Rachel kept insisting he was.

Finn and Rachel took their seats in the front of the room (it had been Rach's idea to sit there, not his, for obvious reasons.)

"As I was saying," Mr. Schue continued, "When conjugating the verb 'estar,'"

Finn stopped paying attention. He was too busy thinking about Rachel. He looked over at her. She didn't seem to be paying much attention either.

She was obviously thinking about Shelby.

Finn let out a quiet sigh.

It was going to be an interesting day.

**Okay, there's chapter 3 for y'all. Finn's mind is hard to figure out, I'll tell you that much. Please please please keep up with the reviews! I love hearing what you all have to say. I should get to Shelby pretty soon. I want to do a chapter with the glee club, too. I'd love to hear some ideas!**

**I'll update soon!**

**-Emma**


	4. Chapter 4

**Hey guys! By the way, I very much enjoyed last night's episode and Rachel's reaction, but I felt Shelby not being there affected her deeper than shown. Second update of the day:) I'm sorry the chapters are so short… They looked longer on Word. Ha! Well, anyway, this is going to be a weird chapter. It shouldn't be insanely long since known of my chapters are. It's all about Rachel and Finn's free period on that same day. Enjoy!**

**-Emma 3**

Free period could not have come any sooner.

Rachel and Finn met up just after 3rd period so they could spend the time together… Except, Rachel still wasn't her perky self. Shelby had affected her. Most days, she and Finn spent free period with a few fellow glee clubbers rehearsing.

Today, Finn wanted to go somewhere quieter and more private.

The auditorium.

The others knew about Shelby being back. Finn and Rachel had been avoiding them all day. They knew they were going to have to face them at some point.

But, right now, Rachel wanted to be alone… Well, alone with Finn.

They walked through the auditorium to the stage. Finn led her up the stairs and he let go of her hand up on the stage. He walked over to the piano and sat down. He started…playing?

Rachel was lost.

Finn saw the expression on her face and laughed.

"Kurt taught me some stuff over the summer. It was supposed to be a surprise for your birthday. I was going to keep taking lessons with him. He's gonna be pretty pissed, but whatever. I figured you needed some cheering up today."

Rachel smiled and sat down next to Finn on the little bench.

"I'm fine, I already told you." Rachel replied, slightly cocking her head to the right as she said it.

"No. You aren't. You're not fine. Seeing your mom messed you up, and you know it." Finn said with a small frown. "Can I cheer you up now?"

Rachel wanted to say she didn't need to be cheered up, but he knew her better than she knew herself. She nodded.

Without another word, Finn started to play a song that Rachel recognized at the first note.

_Highway run into the midnight sun_

_Wheels go round and round, you're on my mind._

Finn flashed an encouraging smile to Rachel in hopes that she would join in. To his surprise, she did.

_Restless hearts sleep alone tonight_

_Sending all my love along the wire._

She smiled at him and a tear rolled down her face, but for the first time today, it seemed like a tear of happiness.

_They say the road ain't no place to start a family_

_Right down the line, it's been you and me_

_And lovin' a music man ain't always what it's supposed to be._

_Oh, boy, you stand by me._

_I'm forever yours, faithfully_

As she sang, Rachel laid her head on Finn's shoulder. She hadn't realized how badly she had needed this.

_Circus life, under the big top world._

_We all need the clowns to make us smile_

_Oh, through space and time (through space and time)_

_Always another show._

_Wondering where I am, lost without you._

_And being apart ain't easy on this love affair,_

_Two strangers learn to fall in love again._

_And I get the joy of rediscovering you_

_Oh, girl, you stand by me._

_I'm forever yours, faithfully._

_Faithfully._

_Faithfully, I'm still yours_

_I'm still yours_

_I'm still yours…_

_Faithfully._

Finn played the last few notes and grinned.

Rachel lifted her head off of Finn's shoulder. She smiled at him as another tear rolled off of her cheek. He wiped the tear away and cupped her face with one hand.

"You know what?" Rachel smiled.

"Hmmm?"

"You," Rachel tapped Finn's nose. "are the best boyfriend ever."

Finn's grin somehow grew even wider as he gave Rachel a lingering kiss on the lips. Rachel slowly hugged him, and he held her as close as he could, squeezing tightly, but not crushing her.

"Thank you." Rachel said. Finn could practically hear the smile in her voice.

"I love you, Rach." He kissed the top of her head.

"I love you so much."

The two of them sat there, wrapped in each other's arms.

Then, Finn realized something…

They'd have to face the world, and Shelby, some time.

**There y'all have it! Chapter 4! I'm pretty proud of this chapter. Thank you for reading. That chapter ended up being longer than I thought! Please review! I LOVE hearing what y'all have to say. Please, if you have any ideas, I'd love to hear from you! Thanks again!**

**Peace out guys!**

**-Emma3**


	5. Chapter 5

**Hey guys! Time for chapter 5! Alright, well this is my glee club chapter. It'll probably be pretty short. Please review! I love hearing from you guys, and again, ideas!**

**-Emma**

Glee club.

They all usually looked forward to the meetings after school, but today, they weren't. They all had the same reason not to.

Shelby Corcoran, Rachel Berry's birthmother.

She'd come back to McKinley.

Nobody was talking. They all sat in the choir room in silence. Everyone was there except for Rachel and Finn.

"So, I guess we're all silent for the same reason…"

Kurt Hummel broke the silence. Mercedes Jones glanced over at him and nodded. Rachel may have been annoying and bossy and selfish… but she was family. Nobody would ever admit it (well, maybe Kurt would) but they loved her. Not just for her talent, but because she was Rachel.

There were mumbles of "Yeah" and "Yup" and "Pretty much" all over the room.

They were worried about Rachel… for some reason they didn't understand.

There was some quiet chatter going on, all about Rachel and Ms. Corcoran. Then, they all fell silent once again, because Finn and Rachel entered the choir room ever so tentatively. Everyone stared at them for a second until, oddly enough, Rachel broke the silence.

"Hi, you guys. I-I'm sorry I've been avoiding you guys all day… I guess you all heard the news… I've just been a lit-."

"Rachel, shut up."

Brittany Pierce stood up from her seat in the front row. She walked over to Rachel, who looked incredibly confused and…

She hugged her.

Rachel stood there for a second, confused, and then she hugged Brittany back, grateful to the fact that somebody, other than Finn, was willing to be empathetic.

Rachel heard someone else stand up. Of all people, Noah Puckerman came over and hugged Rachel too. Then, Mike Chang and Tina Cohen-Chang stood up to join their little group hug.

Suddenly, they were all doing it.

Kurt Hummel, Mercedes Jones, Quinn Fabray, even Artie Abrams rolled himself over to join in.

And then, what could've been the biggest shock of the day (other than seeing Shelby,) Santana Lopez joined the group hug just as Finn hugged Rachel from behind.

Rachel couldn't help but cry.

"Awwwwww, we made her cry!" Brittany sounded upset.

"No, Brit, it's alright! Happy tears!" Rachel assured her.

"Alright, everybo-!" Everyone looked up to see Mr. Schuester, who stopped in the doorway.

"Oh, I'm interrupting something." Mr. Schue said.

"Nah, we were just comforting Rachel." Brittany said with a smile as the group hug disbanded.

"That's awesome, Brit!" Mr. Schue said with a huge grin.

Rachel smiled up at Finn, who grabbed her hand and led her to their seats. He sat her on his lap and wrapped his arms around her waist.

"I'm glad you're feeling better, Rachel."

"Thanks, Mr. Schuester. I jus, you know, needed a little ti-."

Rachel stopped suddenly. She wasn't feeling better anymore… because of who had just come through the door.

Her mother, Shelby Corcoran, and her adopted sister, Beth.

None of the glee club had seen the baby since the day she was born, and Rachel had never seen her once. She had dirty blonde curly hair and Puckerman's big hazel eyes.

Rachel wasn't the only one surprised by the visit. Quinn and Puck were shocked, too.

Mr. Schue turned around to see who had come through the door. His eyes widened, then he looked down and saw Beth.

"Hi, sweetheart!" He greeted the child.

"Say hi, Beth!" Shelby encouraged the little girl.

"…Hi." The little girl wouldn't look up from her shoes.

"She's shy." Shelby laughed quietly.

Beth broke her hand free from Shelby's grasp and ran over to Puck and sat down in front of him.

"Beth!" Shelby shouted.

"No, um, it's okay." Puck said with a smile as he looked down at his biological daughter. "Hi, baby, I'm Puck."

Beth looked up at her father and smiled. "My name Beth!"

She stood up and hugged him, and he hadn't even asked.

It was easy to see that Noah Puckerman, one of McKinley's toughest, was trying not to cry.

When Beth let go of him, she walked over to her biological mother, Quinn.

"Hi, sweetheart, I-I'm Q-Quinn." She said, her voice breaking.

Beth said "I Beth." And she hugged Quinn, too. But, Quinn wasn't as strong as Puck and she began to cry, but nobody was sure if it was from joy or pain.

Shelby smiled at them and addressed the entire glee club.

"Afternoon, everybody. As you all know, I'm back in Lima to teach biology here. Um, I'm here to see Rachel. Um, are you up for that?"

Everyone turned his or her heads to look at Rachel, who was trying to act as if she wasn't paying attention. Finn moved his hand up to her hair and stroked it.

"Baby, your mom- I mean, um, Ms. Corcoran was talking to you…" Finn knew Rachel had heard her mother.

"Oh," Rachel said as nonchalantly as she could when the truth was, she was freaking out.

"Yeah, do you wanna go somewhere and talk?" Shelby asked her.

"Whatever." Rachel started to stand up to go with her mother and Finn took both of her hands.

"You're not fine with this. Are you sure you want to go with her? I-I'll come with you. Like I said, I'll do whatever." Finn whispered so that only Rachel could hear him.

"It's alright, baby. Thank you. I love you so much." Rachel whispered back as she kissed Finn's forehead. Rachel backed away from Finn slowly, smiling, and he didn't let go of her hand until the very last possible second.

"Do you, um, want to go to the auditorium to talk…?" Shelby asked when Rachel made her way over to her.

"Sure, whatever." Rachel said, walking out of the choir room.

Shelby stayed behind a moment. "Quinn, could you watch Beth while I'm gone?"

Quinn's red face lit up. "Yeah, of course!"

A few minutes later, Shelby and Rachel sat on the stage in the auditorium.

"So, um, about this morning…" Shelby tried to break the awkward silence filling the room.

"Can we just forget about that?" Rachel shouted, turning to face her mother.

Shelby sighed. "I understand why you're upset, but can't you just talk to me?"

"No, Shelby, I can't talk to you. You haven't bothered to talk to me in a YEAR AND A HALF! Ever since you adopted Beth, you've been MIA in my life."

"Beth needed a mother, and I needed a daughter."

"You HAD a daughter! You had ME!" Rachel shouted as she shot up.

"You don't need me! You've turned out just fine without me! You're the most intelligent, beautiful, talented young woman I've ever met!"

"You will never understand how wrong that statement was. I need you, Shelby! I NEED my mom!" Rachel was crying now. Her anger had been built up for a year and a half. She wasn't about to stop.

"Rachel…"

"Beth's going to have you for her whole life, and there's a whole in my heart that'll never be filled. A hole made by my mother! I'm jealous of Beth! She has you. You're always going to be there for her!

"Rachel, I'm your mother but-."

"But not my mom! I know. You said that to me before! Remember? Just before you were MIA!"

Rachel ran off the stage and out of the auditorium.

"Rachel!"

She heard her mother calling, but it was no use.

She wasn't looking back.

**Okay, I've been literally working on this chapter all day, so I hope you enjoyed it. Please, please, please review! I'm going to update tomorrow definitely! Alright, thank you so much for your reviews.**

**-Emma**


	6. Chapter 6

***Hey guys! Thanks again for the great reviews. Another Finchel-centric chapter, because, well, Rachel needs it. I'm trying to get these up as fast as I can, so this should be another short one. I want to get back to the drama as soon as I can. Okay, without further ado… DRUMROLL PLEASE! Duhduhduhduhduhduhduhduhduh! CHAPTER SIX!**

**-Emma***

She wasn't talking to anyone.

She wasn't answering her phone.

She wasn't answering her text messages.

They'd even tried messaging her on Facebook, but it didn't seem like Rachel was going to talk to anyone. It was like she'd fallen off the face of the Earth.

All because of her mother.

Finn was starting to worry, so after school on that Friday afternoon, he drove to her house. He'd tried calling her twice on the way, but she didn't answer. When he knocked on the door, one of Rachel's dads answered the door. It was Leroy Berry.

"Hi, Finn." He said with a sigh. "Rachel refuses to come out of her bedroom. I don't know if she'll want to see you, but you can certainly try."

"Thank you, sir!" He ran towards the stairs and waved to Hiram Berry who waved back as he watched a "Friends" rerun in the living room.

He knocked on Rachel's door.

He heard a sniffle. "Daddy, I told you I didn't want anything to eat."

Finn cracked the door open a little bit. "It's just me, baby." He peeked his head through the door, waiting for the sign that it was okay to come in.

"Oh…" Rachel said. "You can come in."

Finn opened the door, slowly closed the door, and sat down on Rachel's bed next to her.

She was wearing read gym shorts and a McKinley football shirt that she's borrowed from Finn over the summer when they went to the lake. Her hair was pulled back in a messy ponytail and there wasn't a hint of make-up on her red from crying face. To Finn, she was still the most gorgeous girl in the world.

They sat there for a moment in an awkward silence until Finn looked at Rachel and she threw her arms around his neck. She was crying into his chest.

Finn felt his heart break in his chest.

It killed him to see her like this.

"Do you wanna talk about it, baby?" Finn whispered.

Rachel pulled her face off of his chest and took her arms back. She looked away from him.

"When we got to the auditorium, I don't think I really let her speak at all. I just started yelling and shouting and crying…"

Rachel sobbed when she finished her sentence. Finn pulled her closer as she sobbed even more. His chest was wet with her tears.

"God, Finn, what am I going to do?" she bawled into his chest.

Finn held her in his arms, not knowing what to say because, truth be told, he didn't know what she needed to do.

Rachel stopped crying after about 20 minutes and Finn asked if she wanted to watch a movie. After she nodded, he popped her favorite movie, "Funny Girl," in, because he knew that it would make her feel a little better.

Just before the movie started, Rachel went downstairs and asked her dad's if they could order a (vegan) pizza for them. Finn didn't mind vegan pizza. It was actually pretty good.

When the pizza came, Finn and Rachel curled up on Rachel's bed and watched the movie, but Rachel's mind was clearly somewhere else.

They fell asleep together… with a vegan pizza box at the foot of the bed.

Finn woke up the next morning with Rachel in his arms. He checked his cell phone. He had, like, 10 missed calls from his mother. Kurt had texted him a couple times.

"Finn, Carole's freaking out. You still at Rachel's? She really wants to know. –Kurt"

"Crap!" He whispered, but it must've been too loud, or he moved or something, because Rachel stirred and woke up in his arms.

"Crap! Baby, I didn't mean to wake you, I'm so sorry, baby, go back to sleep." He said, stroking her cheek with his thumb as she looked up at him, her big brown eyes looking sleepy.

"No, I'm fine… God, what time is it?" Rachel asked.

"It's like 8:30."

"Crap! Your mom's probably freaking out!" Rachel sounded worried.

"Well, we better find out."

Rachel stood up and grabbed Finn's hand. When they went downstairs, ready to be chastised, they found Rachel's dads, who smiled at them.

Finn and Rachel were absolutely lost.

Mr. And Mr. Berry laughed.

"Finn," Leroy said, "We came up to check on you and saw that you'd fallen asleep. We notified your mother, who was relieved since you weren't answering your phone. We told her that you're welcome to sleep over any time… as long as nothing goes on."

"Of course, sir! Thank you so much!" Finn said quickly.

Rachel laughed at Finn and went to get some cereal for them. When they were done breakfast, Rachel went upstairs to get dressed so she and Finn could spend the day together, which left Finn alone with Rachel's two fathers.

"So, I guess you know what went down yesterday…" Finn said.

"To an extent, yes." Hiram replied. "You realize that you're the only one she's talking to about this, correct?"

"Yeah, I know." Finn said, his emotions mixed. He was glad that Rachel was willing to open up to him, but he was afraid he wouldn't be able to help her the way someone smarter than he was could…

"You're the only one who's going to be able to help her with this." Leroy said with a sigh. "We do trust you. You're a good kid, Finn Hudson."

"Thank you, sir. I appreciate that."

Rachel came down the stairs, dressed in a pair of skinny jeans, white wedge sandals and a billowy white top.

"I'm ready, Finn." She said. They were going to spend the day at the mall. Finn was praying that they wouldn't run into Shelby.

"Okay, let's go."

"Bye, Dads!" Rachel said as enthusiastically as she could manage. She was still upset, and Finn could tell.

Finn waved to the misters Berry and they hopped in Finn's car and left.

"You sure you don't want to spend the day in, babe?" Finn asked as they pulled out of the driveway.

"I'm fine Finn!" Rachel replied, with a fake encouraging smile.

She wasn't fine.

She wasn't fine at all.

***Alright, this was not my strongest chapter. It was kind of a filler chapter so I could get to the next big showdown between Rachel and Shelby. I hope you liked it. Reviews are greatly appreciated, because, let me tell you, they make my day and I'd love love love to hear some of your ideas! The next update should come either later or tomorrow, preferably later. Thanks, y'all!**

**-Emma***


	7. Chapter 7

**Hey you guys! I just had an idea… I dunno, it just kind of popped into my head… probably because I was reading a Wemma fic. So, I decided to make this chapter Will/Emma discussing Shelby and Rachel. So, enjoy! Reviews please!**

**-Emma :)**

Will had been kind of worried when Rachel didn't come back to glee club after talking with her mother.

He worried even more when Shelby came back, red-faced, to pick Beth up and go home.

I just… don't understand why Shelby came back." Will told his girlfriend, McKinley High's own guidance counselor, Emma Pillsbury. She laid her head in his lap as he played with her fiery red hair. He took a few strands and twisted them around on his finger as they lounged on their couch.

Ah, progress.

"Well, didn't you say that Al Motta sent a head hunter out to New York to find her and coach the other glee club at the school with his daughter in it?" Emma inquired.

"Well, yeah… but she didn't have to come. Her being around a year and a half ago really did a number on Rachel… her coming back has really screwed her up again. I mean, the shock of seeing her mother had to be unbearable."

"It might be good for Rachel. You know? Having her mother around for her senior year. She and Kurt were in my office the other day… they've been having a difficult time with college stuff, like where to apply, especially since they found out Julliard doesn't have a musical theater department. It might be good that Shelby is around."

Normally, Emma would've hated talking about Shelby. But, she and Will were in such a good place that she wasn't threatened at all.

"I don't know… Rachel was really off her game in class today. She and Finn got there ten minutes late, which I understood, but she wasn't paying any attention. She's usually the first one to volunteer, especially now that she's taking Spanish 2 again for Finn, but her hand didn't go up once. I would, on a normal day, call a kid out on that, but I wasn't about to do that… not with the day she was having. I'm worried about her."

Emma smiled at him. She adored the way he cared about those kids. She adored the way he'd fight tooth and nail for them, no matter what he was risking.

…

It was kinda hot.

"What are you all smiley about?" Will asked, smiling himself.

"I love the way you care so much about these kids."

"They're like my children. I care about them a lot… sometimes too much, don't you think?"

Emma laughed at him.

"I don't think you could care too much about them. I think you care just enough." She replied with a smile.

"Yeah, I guess… God, I still don't know what to do about Rachel. I really care about the kid, you know? She needs to be back on track."

"They probably just need to talk through their issues. I mean, Shelby's almost acting as if she thinks she can just waltz back into Rachel's life without it affecting her at all. And Rachel's got quite a few reasonable issues with Shelby. Abandonment issues are the most common when this kind of thing comes up. The only thing running through her mind right now is "Okay, she's back, so, when is she going to leave again?'"

An invisible light bulb clicked on over Will's head.

"Emma, baby, you are amazing!" Will bent down and kissed her straight on the mouth.

Emma reciprocated… but was incredibly confused.

"What did I do?" she giggled.

"You gave me a great idea. Em, do you have any appointments during Rachel's free period on Monday?"

"Not that I know of, no."

"Do you think you could sit down with Rachel and Shelby so they can talk out their issues. I think they could use a little help. They're never going to work it out if they don't have any."

Emma grinned.

"That," she said, "may just be one of your best ideas yet."

Will grinned back at his beautiful girlfriend (God, he loved calling her that.) and kissed her again.

"God," he thought, "let's hope this works.

**Okay, I understand that that was a short chapter, and I apologize. But, I needed to build up to what happens next with Rachel and Shelby. Honestly, It kind of wouldn't make sense without this little chapter. By the way, my little "Friends" reference in the last chapter was a shout-out to a) Friends fans like myself and b) to avid Glee fans who have seen every single freaking episode, like myself, and remember that in "Theatricality," Rachel told Shelby that her dads named her after Rachel from Friends. Haha! My next chapter should be up shortly. Please review! Bye guys.**

**-Emma**


	8. Chapter 8

**Hey everybody! So here it is, the big confrontation. THE BIG MOMENT. This may or may not be the last chapter. Okay, ladies and gentlemen here we go. I hope you enjoy this! REVIEWS PLEASE!**

**-Emma**

It was free period on Monday morning.

Rachel went to biology that morning, but she sat in the back of the room and didn't pay attention.

She was in the choir room, rehearsing with Finn. They were in the middle of a duet they were going to sing for the club at rehearsal when Miss Pillsbury came into the room.

"Rachel," she said. "Can I see you in my office?"

"Um, I guess…" Rachel said. "I'll be right back, Finn."

"Alright, baby." He kissed the top of her head and she left with Miss Pillsbury.

"So, why is it that you wanted to see me, Miss Pillsbury?" Rachel inquired as she took a seat across from Miss Pillsbury's desk.

"Well, Rachel, I'm not the only one that wanted to see you."

"Who else wanted to see m-?"

Just like magic, that's when Shelby walked into the room.

"Oh my God, I'm out of here!" Rachel stood up and started to walk out, but Shelby grabbed her forearm.

"Rachel, please, just talk to me! Please, we both need this. Baby-!"

"You can't call me that." Rachel pulled her arm free from her mother's grasp. "But, fine, I will talk to you."

Rachel sat down in her original seat and Shelby sat down in the next chair.

"So," Miss Pillsbury started. "Who, um, who would like to go first?"

Shelby cleared her throat and broke the mother-daughter silence. "I'll, uhhh, go first."

She turned to face her daughter. "Rachel, I'm sorry about what happened the other day."

"Sorry?" Rachel cried. "You're sorry? Now, tell me, Shelby, what are you sorry about? Giving me up? Or are you sorry about waltzing RANDOMLY into my life a year and a half ago? Are you sorry about leaving me after adopting another child? The child of a girl who absolutely devotes her life to making mine a living hell! How about the fact that you didn't bother to contact me in a year and a half? Or that you WALKED RIGHT BACK IN ON FRIDAY?"

Rachel was crying again… and clearly Shelby was too. Silent tears were rolling down her face. Emma felt a well of tears too…she didn't know how she would've lived without her mom for 2 months let alone 18 years.

"Okay, we're making good progress. Rachel, that was a very good job of putting your feelings out there." Emma said to make an attempt to break some of the tension.

It didn't work.

"Rachel, I had no idea how much I hurt you." Shelby whispered.

"Well, you hurt me a whole lot more than you thought you did!" Rachel sobbed.

"Rachel, can I ask you a question?"

Rachel looked up from her lap to face Ms. Pillsbury. She sniffed and wiped her eyes.

"Yeah," she whispered.

"How do you feel about your mother adopting Noah and Quinn's daughter?"

Rachel looked back down in her lap.

"It hurts. It kills me that she chose Beth over me."

Emma shot Shelby an encouraging glance.

Shelby took Rachel's hand in her left hand and wiped her daughter's tears with her right.

"Rachel, oh my God… I hoped to God that you wouldn't feel this way about Beth. I'm so sorry."

"She seems like a wonderful little girl…"

"She is. Rachel, I really didn't think you needed me at all."

Miss Pillsbury looked at Shelby again. "Well, clearly, Rachel did and does need you. Shelby. May I ask you a question?"

"Yes." She whispered, wiping her own tears.

"Do you love Rachel?"

Shelby sniffed. "Absolutely. More than anything."

"Did you ever regret giving her up all those years ago?"

"Every single day since she was born."

"Would you be willing to work on your relationship with your daughter?"

Shelby took lifted Rachel's chin up so she could look in her eyes.

"Definitely."

She hugged Rachel who didn't hesitate to reciprocate. Shelby's silent tears we're silent no more.

"I love you, Mom…" Rachel whispered into her mother's ear, crying even harder as she held onto her mother.

"Oh, baby, I love you, too." Shelby told her daughter, stroking her long dark brown hair.

Rachel really did love her mother. It had taken her so long to realize, but she really, truly did.

**So there ya have it folks. I'm going to write an epilogue, which should be up shortly. I hope you enjoyed my story. I'd really love to hear what you thought about my ending, so please review! I understand that my chapters were pretty short, but I truly hope you enjoyed reading it as much as I enjoyed writing it. Thank you so much for reading, you guys. You're all super awesome!**

**-Emma :)**


	9. Epilogue

**Alright, so here's my epilogue. I hope you liked the rest of my story! You guys are awesome. Reviews made my day :D**

**-Emma**

_Two years later…_

It was a rainy April Saturday afternoon in New York City. Rachel and Finn were snuggled up on their couch in their apartment's living room. They were watching some romantic comedy with Kate Hudson and that guy from "The Office" whose name Finn couldn't remember… Joe… Joey… John something… oh, whatever.

Then, Rachel's cell phone rang. She looked at the name and picture on the caller ID and grinned. Finn nudged her to put it on speaker.

"Hey, Mom!" Rachel said with a smile. "Finn's here, too."

She elbowed him. "Say hi!"

"Hey, Ms. C.!" Finn said.

"Hi, Finn." Shelby laughed. "So, I was calling to check up on you guys. How's school?"

"Great!" The couple replied simultaneously. Finn was attending NYU and Rachel was at NYADA with Kurt, majoring in musical theater.

"That's great!" Shelby said. You could almost hear the smile in her voice.

Rachel and her mother's relationship flourished after that emotional conversation in Miss Pillsbury's (now Mrs. Schuester's) office.

Then, Rachel and Finn heard a toddler's voice in the background.

"Mommy! Mommy!"

Finn grinned at Rachel when he heard the little girl's voice.

"Is that Beth?" He asked excitedly.

"Mom, could you put her on the phone? I think Finn misses his friend." Rachel laughed.

"Okay. Here you go." Shelby said, laughing as well.

Then, they heard Shelby say, "Beth, honey, phone for you! It's Rachel and Finny!"

They heard the little girl, now about 4 years of age, gasp and take the phone from Shelby.

"Rachy! Finny!" Beth said happily.

"Hey, baby girl!" Rachel smiled at her baby sister's enthusiasm. It reminded Rachel of… well… Rachel.

"How's my favorite little girl?" Finn asked, grinning ear-to-ear.

"Great! I miss you guys." Beth sounded less enthusiastic and a little sadder.

"Aw, honey, you can come visit us!" Finn said. "Or we could come to see you!"

"Really?" Beth instantly perked up. Rachel giggled. Finn really had a way with kids, especially Beth. She absolutely adored him, and her big sister Rachy, of course.

"Mommy!" Beth shouted to Shelby. "Rachy and Finny said we should go see them! Or maybe they'd come see us!"

Finn laughed and Rachel put her head on his shoulder, giggling.

"Really?" They faintly heard Shelby in the background. "That's wonderful! Okay, wrap it up and give the phone back to Mommy, honey."

"Mommy says I have to go now. Bye Rachy! Bye Finny! I love you."

"Aw, we love you, too sweetie!" Rachel said with another smile.

Shelby came back on.

"You just made her day, you know."

"Well, we were happy to do so. Especially Finn here, he'll be talking about this for a week." Rachel laughed.

"Hey!" Finn shouted, nudging Rachel again.

"Well, it's TRUE!" Rachel burst out laughing.

…

"…You're right." Finn said, putting his head down as a joke, Rachel and Shelby continued to crack up.

"She really misses you. And, well, I guess I do too." Shelby joked.

"I guess I miss you too, Mom." Rachel giggled. Finn stroked her hair and kissed the top of her head.

"Okay, I promised Beth I'd take her out for ice cream, so I guess I'd better go."

"Okay, Mom. I love you."

"I love you, too, sweetheart. Bye, Finn!"

"Bye, Ms. C.!"

With that, they hung up.

Rachel snuggled back up to Finn and smiled to herself as they continued to watch the movie.

This was exactly how things were supposed to be.

**So, there you have it, ladies and gents. I get that it may have been a cheesy ending, but I found it to be cute. XD Well thanks again for reading! Please review! And, I'll promise you one thing:**

**This isn't the last you'll hear from me.**

**Thanks again!**

**-Emma :)**


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